A vegan restaurant chain you've never heard of is gearing up for a massive expansion

At first glance, Veggie Grill's menu doesn't seem much different
from that of your average fast-casual restaurant, serving up
fried food, tacos, and salad.

But one major thing sets Veggie Grill apart from its competitors:
The restaurant is 100% vegan. That means it doesn't serve
anything made with animal products.

The meat- and dairy-free concept has attracted some major
attention.

Last week, the 28-location chain
announced it had raised another $22 million from investors.
The chain plans to double in size in the next three years with
the new round of funding.

Veggie Grill launched in 2006, opening its first location in
Irvine, California. All of its locations are on the West Coast,
though Steve Heeley, Veggie Grill's CEO, told Nation's Restaurant
News that the chain was considering expanding to the Midwest and
the East Coast.

A photo posted by Brad The Tall Vegan (@bradthetallvegan) on Oct 30, 2016 at 9:25pm PDT on
Oct 30, 2016 at 9:25pm PDT

Plates and sandwiches often include creative meat substitutes.
The Grillin' Chickin' sandwich, for example, swaps out meat for a
mixture of ancient grains,soy, wheat,
and peas intended to taste like the actual thing.

The
Beyond Burger.Leanna
Garfield/Business Insider

In December, you'll be able to try the Beyond Burger at all
Veggie Grill locations. The Bill Gates-backed burger is made
mostly from pea protein yeast extract, beet juice, and coconut
oil, and it "bleeds" plant juices the way animal meat would.
Earlier this year, Business Insider
declared the Beyond Burger the best veggie burger that could
be found in a grocery store.

"Our market research shows us there are a large number of what we
call 'veggie positive' people who are our target consumer,"
Heeley told Nation's Restaurant News. "It’s not just vegetarians
and vegans but people who want to move vegetables to the center
of the plate."

Veggie Grill's rise fits into a larger trend of restaurants
boosting the number of vegetables on the menu. Mainstream chains
like Panera and Taco Bell have
recently doubled down on vegetables to win over both
vegetarian customers and people who simply want to include more
veggies in their diet.